Really? ABD for Eastern and Western Caribbean Sailings??

[kaseyC]

I really wish they wouldn’t do stuff like this as it makes me question the value of other trips.

I agree. These add ons truly look like a money grab. Disappointing.

 

[acndis]

I agree with all the posts above. It just seems like ABD is headed in a totally different direction than when we started traveling with them. The price for this is outrageous for what you get and how would this be different than booking concierge (with the exception of the couple of lackluster excursions that are included)? The Japan trip is what ABD has been all about for us but as they add more things like this, I really worry about the direction of future itineraries.

 

[kaseyC]

The descriptions and wording on the website is vague. There are quite a few people on the cruise board who believe the price includes the cruise as well. I think there is going to be some serious sticker shock on booking day.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

That's true! They not only expect you to *pay* for all 8 days when you're really only getting 2 days of excursions, but they do expect you to tip for all of them, too. Sigh.
Sayhello

You are totally right! I was thinking 7, but it would be 8 days. Even more appalling.

Well, I mean come on. You *are* also getting a welcome and last night reception, included photography, AND a one day Rainforest Room pass!!!!!

It is becoming clear that while I have lurked on this board since 2015 when we decided to do Costa Rica (ended up with TB, and did TB Ireland last year) and am finally doing our first ABD this summer (Danube River Cruise), I am really not an ABD person. I know it is silly, but this almost offends me.

It is not silly. It offends me, too, and I am an ABD person. And LOL on the rainforest room pass (where you will be bombarded with upsells). How could I forget that and the reception and photos.

I agree. These add ons truly look like a money grab. Disappointing.

Ditto. Really disappointing.

I agree with all the posts above. It just seems like ABD is headed in a totally different direction than when we started traveling with them. The price for this is outrageous for what you get and how would this be different than booking concierge (with the exception of the couple of lackluster excursions that are included)? The Japan trip is what ABD has been all about for us but as they add more things like this, I really worry about the direction of future itineraries.

I 100% agree. I went on ABD the second year it started to Ireland, and the past few years it really has felt like the product is going in a much different direction. But then they come out with something like Japan, and I think that maybe there are still some elements of the original idea in there. I was very disappointed in the "value" of the cruise add-on that we did, and it was much more "reasonable" than these. But I had the same thought when I was doing the ABD-add on for the Northern Europe cruise: I would have been much better off booking concierge and/or the "VIP" excursions offered through DCL. IMO, those were much better than our ABD activities.

The descriptions and wording on the website is vague. There are quite a few people on the cruise board who believe the price includes the cruise as well. I think there is going to be some serious sticker shock on booking day.

LOL, you are right! There is going to be some serious sticker shock. Add-ons have never included cruise price.

Really, the more I think about this, the more upset I get. I really hope Japan lives up to my expectations. I'm not sure I would have signed up for another ABD if Japan hadn't come along. There really almost seems to be two ABDs operating side by side. The money grab trips, and the thoughtful well planned out old-school VIP/upscale type of trips.

 

[BluesTraveler]

The piece that is disappointing to me - in addition to everything y'all have listed above - is all the internal time and energy that must have gone into developing it, that could have been spent on really refining and improving the current product. I also find myself personally offended by this, because I want to be an enthusiastic and repeat ABD customer. This is a product that I'm actively looking for! But how can I possibly trust the product when the decisions I can see ABD make (group size, this type of cruise add-on) are so low value to me? What does that say about the decisions they're making that I can't see but affect my experience? I just don't get it.

 

[sayhello]

I agree with all the posts above. It just seems like ABD is headed in a totally different direction than when we started traveling with them. The price for this is outrageous for what you get and how would this be different than booking concierge (with the exception of the couple of lackluster excursions that are included)? The Japan trip is what ABD has been all about for us but as they add more things like this, I really worry about the direction of future itineraries.

The descriptions and wording on the website is vague. There are quite a few people on the cruise board who believe the price includes the cruise as well. I think there is going to be some serious sticker shock on booking day.

Oh, man, that's a potential headache in the making!!! I can just picture people calling thinking they're booking the whole shooting match for $2499 per person, and finding out that's *AFTER* they pay for a cruise!

You are totally right! I was thinking 7, but it would be 8 days. Even more appalling.

Yep.

It is not silly. It offends me, too, and I am an ABD person. And LOL on the rainforest room pass (where you will be bombarded with upsells). How could I forget that and the reception and photos.

I mean, who are they trying to fool?

I 100% agree. I went on ABD the second year it started to Ireland, and the past few years it really has felt like the product is going in a much different direction. But then they come out with something like Japan, and I think that maybe there are still some elements of the original idea in there. I was very disappointed in the "value" of the cruise add-on that we did, and it was much more "reasonable" than these. But I had the same thought when I was doing the ABD-add on for the Northern Europe cruise: I would have been much better off booking concierge and/or the "VIP" excursions offered through DCL. IMO, those were much better than our ABD activities.

Really, the more I think about this, the more upset I get. I really hope Japan lives up to my expectations. I'm not sure I would have signed up for another ABD if Japan hadn't come along. There really almost seems to be two ABDs operating side by side. The money grab trips, and the thoughtful well planned out old-school VIP/upscale type of trips.

I wonder how much has to do with ABD driving the itineraries vs. DCL driving them? The very first year they offered the ABD add-on (for 11- and 12- day Mediterranean cruises) what they did was actually use the activities/excursions from the regular land ABDs. We toured Rome and the Colosseum and the Vatican (unfortunately not there late enough to do the private time at the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's. We did the cruise around Capri and the pizza making a the Agriturismo La Galatea Farm. We did the walking tour of Florence and saw the David. Plus a lot of other GREAT excursions that were totally equal to the types of experiences I'd done on regular land ABD's. It was *less* for a 12-day Med cruise than what they're charging for an 8-day Caribbean cruise. It was totally worth it back then. But there was a lot of tension and issues between what ABD said, and how DCL actually handled it. At some point, ABD's position seemed to be that of a contractor providing a service for DCL. I sensed a lot of frustration on their point. So who knows who is really driving this? That could be the disconnect we see between the Japan itinerary and the Caribbean add-on...

The piece that is disappointing to me - in addition to everything y'all have listed above - is all the internal time and energy that must have gone into developing it, that could have been spent on really refining and improving the current product. I also find myself personally offended by this, because I want to be an enthusiastic and repeat ABD customer. This is a product that I'm actively looking for! But how can I possibly trust the product when the decisions I can see ABD make (group size, this type of cruise add-on) are so low value to me? What does that say about the decisions they're making that I can't see but affect my experience? I just don't get it.

I totally agree with this. But since ABD and DCL are run at the top levels by the same people now, I have to wonder how much that affects things? I used to be their biggest cheerleader. Sometimes it's *really* hard these days. I belong to a couple of fb groups that discuss ABD, and I just haven't been posting, because the TA's who run the groups are all enthusing about these add-ons, and there's just nothing positive I can say.

Sayhello

 

[BluesTraveler]

@sayhello - yes, I'm in those same FB groups and I don't comment either, because it's definitely not a forum for honest feedback.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I wonder how much has to do with ABD driving the itineraries vs. DCL driving them? The very first year they offered the ABD add-on (for 11- and 12- day Mediterranean cruises) what they did was actually use the activities/excursions from the regular land ABDs. We toured Rome and the Colosseum and the Vatican (unfortunately not there late enough to do the private time at the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's. We did the cruise around Capri and the pizza making a the Agriturismo La Galatea Farm. We did the walking tour of Florence and saw the David. Plus a lot of other GREAT excursions that were totally equal to the types of experiences I'd done on regular land ABD's. It was *less* for a 12-day Med cruise than what they're charging for an 8-day Caribbean cruise. It was totally worth it back then. But there was a lot of tension and issues between what ABD said, and how DCL actually handled it. At some point, ABD's position seemed to be that of a contractor providing a service for DCL. I sensed a lot of frustration on their point. So who knows who is really driving this? That could be the disconnect we see between the Japan itinerary and the Caribbean add-on...
Sayhello

The add-on for the Baltics also used many of the Port Adventures--just not the "signature" ones that I would have expected. I actually thought they relied too much on existing port adventures and should have been more special/different. I think it has more to do with the relation between ABD and DCL, although I do think you are right about the disconnect. When we were on the DCL Add-on we got the distinct sense that ABD and DCL didn't play nicely together and were angling for who got the preferential treatment. We got the sense that there would be a *big* problem if ABD was later back to the ship for anything, requiring us to leave plenty of room to return (including cutting the Vasa way short, which really upset me). This was very different from the "first off/last on" type of treatment that I was expecting. Many of the DCL "signature" port adventures had much better perks/access than we were given. For example, we couldn't take pictures in the amber room, but one of the Signature excursions could. I would have loved to do the "Princess" ball signature event, and was hoping ABD would include something like this, but they didn't. We suspected that DCL was keeping those to themselves. There were other things that bolstered our suspicion, like the not so great meeting times and rooms on sea days, etc. I think what's really driving this is that the add-ons are big profit machines. ABD can take advantage of existing Port Adventures (which already have big profit built into them) bundle them together, save big on meals (I'm still annoyed at having to come back to the ship for dinner in St. Petersburg!) and hotels, and offer a product that *looks* cheaper compared to the regular product. I bet they make way more on the short escapes and add-ons than they do for the regular ABDs. I'd love to know the profit margins. My guess: 25-30% on regular ABDs and 35-50% on these? Who knows, but that's what it feels like.

 

[sayhello]

@sayhello - yes, I'm in those same FB groups and I don't comment either, because it's definitely not a forum for honest feedback.

Yep. My feeling is, those TA's basically set their groups up to sell ABDs. The discussions can be great, but ultimately, they're a marketing tool. They are *not* going to appreciate me saying that I don't think they're worth what ABD is charging.

The add-on for the Baltics also used many of the Port Adventures--just not the "signature" ones that I would have expected. I actually thought they relied too much on existing port adventures and should have been more special/different. I think it has more to do with the relation between ABD and DCL, although I do think you are right about the disconnect. When we were on the DCL Add-on we got the distinct sense that ABD and DCL didn't play nicely together and were angling for who got the preferential treatment. We got the sense that there would be a *big* problem if ABD was later back to the ship for anything, requiring us to leave plenty of room to return (including cutting the Vasa way short, which really upset me). This was very different from the "first off/last on" type of treatment that I was expecting. Many of the DCL "signature" port adventures had much better perks/access than we were given. For example, we couldn't take pictures in the amber room, but one of the Signature excursions could. I would have loved to do the "Princess" ball signature event, and was hoping ABD would include something like this, but they didn't. We suspected that DCL was keeping those to themselves. There were other things that bolstered our suspicion, like the not so great meeting times and rooms on sea days, etc. I think what's really driving this is that the add-ons are big profit machines. ABD can take advantage of existing Port Adventures (which already have big profit built into them) bundle them together, save big on meals (I'm still annoyed at having to come back to the ship for dinner in St. Petersburg!) and hotels, and offer a product that *looks* cheaper compared to the regular product. I bet they make way more on the short escapes and add-ons than they do for the regular ABDs. I'd love to know the profit margins. My guess: 25-30% on regular ABDs and 35-50% on these? Who knows, but that's what it feels like.

Actually, they didn't use the "Port Adventures" as a basis for my trip. Most of what we did was based on the land ABDs that visited the same places. The places that ABD didn't have land itineraries, they came up with some great excursions that were the equivalent - or better - of a lot of the signature excursions. I felt that first year, they really went all out with the excursions, because that was what ABD did. It was in subsequent iterations that the excursions seemed to get less special. And we had *full* days. We *were* first off, and came back to the ships pretty late most days. I think this was one of those instances where I benefited from doing it the first year they tried the concept.

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

I agree with all the posts above. It just seems like ABD is headed in a totally different direction than when we started traveling with them. The price for this is outrageous for what you get and how would this be different than booking concierge (with the exception of the couple of lackluster excursions that are included)? The Japan trip is what ABD has been all about for us but as they add more things like this, I really worry about the direction of future itineraries.

I have to agree. This is a complete waste. Considering the effort they put into Japan, and many other land based ABD's, this seems like a joke from the Onion. 8 days. 21 meals included... almost comical. The Pirate Ship battle in St Thomas where you can enjoy a rum punch?! When my non-Disney friends ask about ABD, I talk about the visits to the Mosque at Cordoba, or the hotels overlooking the Matterhorn in Zermatt. The exclusive canoeing on Loch Ness and private visit to the Sistine Chapel. I'm pretty sure a rum cruise with pirates would not make the list of why one should do an ABD. To my (non-Disney) friends, this would be a nonstarter.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Actually, they didn't use the "Port Adventures" as a basis for my trip. Most of what we did was based on the land ABDs that visited the same places. The places that ABD didn't have land itineraries, they came up with some great excursions that were the equivalent - or better - of a lot of the signature excursions. I felt that first year, they really went all out with the excursions, because that was what ABD did. It was in subsequent iterations that the excursions seemed to get less special. And we had *full* days. We *were* first off, and came back to the ships pretty late most days. I think this was one of those instances where I benefited from doing it the first year they tried the concept.
Sayhello

Oops. Read to quickly, and I should have remembered that since we've talked about it a couple times Your point is well taken--I wish they'd have more land-based activities to go off for the Baltics Add-on. I think it would have helped. You DEFINITELY picked the right year to do it. As I recall, you had ship tips, water, and Palo in there as well. The price was a much better value, too. The same with the first year of Alaska Add-ons. That was a great "deal." The first year concept is big for me. I'm really hoping it works out for Japan

I have to agree. This is a complete waste. Considering the effort they put into Japan, and many other land based ABD's, this seems like a joke from the Onion. 8 days. 21 meals included... almost comical. The Pirate Ship battle in St Thomas where you can enjoy a rum punch?! When my non-Disney friends ask about ABD, I talk about the visits to the Mosque at Cordoba, or the hotels overlooking the Matterhorn in Zermatt. The exclusive canoeing on Loch Ness and private visit to the Sistine Chapel. I'm pretty sure a rum cruise with pirates would not make the list of why one should do an ABD. To my (non-Disney) friends, this would be a nonstarter.

I LOL'd when I saw the rum punch pirate ship, too. I'm 100% with you in the types of examples I use to "sell" the ABD product to friends--although sadly I do much less of that now. I was the biggest cheerleader for years, but after the negative experience for me with our 49(!) on the Baltics Add-on, I'm much more careful about what I say. Our China trip in summer 2017 was so spectacular that it brought me back to the fold a little bit, but not with the rose colored glasses and pompoms that I had before.

 

[calypso726]

I was also surprised to see ABD add-ons for the Caribbean. TBH the only ABD cruise add-ons I'd consider down the line would be for the Med cruises since they already do land based ABDs there. I am still a big cheerleader for ABD and fortunately have not had anything but great experiences with ABD over our 10 trips. Even my two least favorite ABDs if I rank them from 1 - 10 weren't a bad experience. However, number 10 on that ranking list was an ABD cruise add-on for a location where there was no current land based ABD. So of course, this colors my perception right from the get go.

I believe that ABD add on was the only ABD where I did not do a trip report. I did not have a bad experience, it just wasn't great either. I was also travelling with a TA friend and that was her first ABD. She has been on others since then. But I got serious side eye throughout and afterwards on that first trip of hers because I always rave about ABD to her. She said the best thing about the ABD was Dusty and James and I agreed. I explained that this was not representative of my other ABD experiences and asked her please not to judge ABD based on that trip or steer her clients away from ABD because of it. Fortunately, she also went with us on the Italy ABD and finally understood why I was such a raving fan.

I am really looking forward to the Japan ABD this fall. I am very confident it will be OUTSTANDING! I am also hoping the SWGE does not open while we are on that trip!

 

[sayhello]

Oops. Read to quickly, and I should have remembered that since we've talked about it a couple times Your point is well taken--I wish they'd have more land-based activities to go off for the Baltics Add-on. I think it would have helped. You DEFINITELY picked the right year to do it. As I recall, you had ship tips, water, and Palo in there as well. The price was a much better value, too. The same with the first year of Alaska Add-ons. That was a great "deal." The first year concept is big for me. I'm really hoping it works out for Japan

Yes. All tips except for the Adventure Guides, a case of water in the room, an included dinner at Palo and an animation lesson. (Although I guess they couldn't always offer that. One of our Adventure Guides, Robyn, had trained as a Disney Animator). I'm also agreeing about the first year thing. After the way they gutted the Scotland trip (luckily, after the *second* year!) I'm just always afraid the best stuff will just end up being too expensive or not as easy logistically as they thought, or something. I'm also hoping it works out for Japan!

I LOL'd when I saw the rum punch pirate ship, too. I'm 100% with you in the types of examples I use to "sell" the ABD product to friends--although sadly I do much less of that now. I was the biggest cheerleader for years, but after the negative experience for me with our 49(!) on the Baltics Add-on, I'm much more careful about what I say. Our China trip in summer 2017 was so spectacular that it brought me back to the fold a little bit, but not with the rose colored glasses and pompoms that I had before.

Same here!

I am really looking forward to the Japan ABD this fall. I am very confident it will be OUTSTANDING! I am also hoping the SWGE does not open while we are on that trip!

I hope you're right about Japan! I'm remaining optimistic! Took me a minute to figure out what SWGE was...

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

I hope you're right about Japan! I'm remaining optimistic! Took me a minute to figure out what SWGE was...

Sayhello

I have no doubts that it will be a fantastic trip and vying for the top spots on my ABD trip rankings.

HAHA! I went to WDW for opening day of Toy Story Land and it was crazy. I am hoping to be able to attend opening day of Star Wars: Galaxy Edge which will likely be even more crazy. I like crazy

 

[sayhello]

I have no doubts that it will be a fantastic trip and vying for the top spots on my ABD trip rankings.

HAHA! I went to WDW for opening day of Toy Story Land and it was crazy. I am hoping to be able to attend opening day of Star Wars: Galaxy Edge which will likely be even more crazy. I like crazy

I am totally the opposite. I hate when it's crowded and crazy. I do pretty much everything I can do to only go to Disney at times that are *not* that crowded. I still haven't been to Pandora. Shanghai Disneyland the day before their 1 year anniversary was NOT my favorite!! I'm *REALLY* hoping that Tokyo Disney Resort won't be as bad as I've heard it can be!

Sayhello

 

[Ava]

I’ve never done an ABD (or DCL for that matter) because it’s honestly out of my price range but I like the people/discussion on this board so I stick around. These Caribbean ads-ons are definitely targeting either completely novice travelers who don’t feel comfortable doing anything on their own, or those who don’t want to do any type of research/planning and have money to burn.

Just for fun I looked at the activities in Cozumel that are included with the Western Caribbean add-on. I found what I’m pretty sure is the same chocolate tour that ABD uses; it’s $39/adult & $32/child. I also found a 4.5-hour glass-bottom boat snorkeling tour to El Cielo plus 2 other shallow reefs, which includes all equipment and beverages/snacks on the boat with a max of 12 guests per boat. Cost for this is $69/adult & $59/child. The last activity is time at Punta Sur eco-Park with lunch. Entrance fee to Punta Sur is $16/adult & $10/child. I’m not sure how challenging it would be logistically to do all of these things on your own in one day, but presuming you could do it the cost would be $124/adult & $101/child plus whatever you spend on lunch and transportation between activities. This all took me about 20 minutes to find online.

I know not everyone likes researching & planning their own vacations, but I do so I just don’t see the value in paying thousands of dollars for someone else to book things that I can book on my own for a few hundred.

 

[Calfan]

So I clearly got way behind on this thread, but I just needed to chime in to say how laughable this is. Agree with all of the prior comments. This feels like such a money-grab by ABD and SUCH a dilution of a once-great product. I have no doubt all of you will have a fantastic Japan experience with ABD, but it is so sad that these types of experiences with ABD seem to have become the exception and not the norm. We were already done with ABD after our Backtage Magic trip last summer (which was fantastic and not at all the tipping point, but unique in that it can't be replicated outside of ABD), but this so does not make me regret my decision to have basically written ABD off. The only thing that might lure me back in for future trips would be an amazing itinerary (like Japan), but limited to a much smaller group size. Even with the great-sounding Japan itinerary, I just couldn't pull the trigger on (or muster up any excitement about) a trip that could potentially have 40 people on it. I am just so over that.

 

[Jess_S]

I missed this thread because we were away on a DCL Western Caribbean cruise. We hired private guides for our family in port for a cost of $200-$300 for the whole day. That's total, not per person. I would agree that the ABD is not offering value with these cruise add-ons and, as others said, I do not get the target demographic. The folks on our cruise who didn't want to plan just booked ship tours. Our table mates planned their next days activities the evening before and then went to the port excursion desk after dinner, for example. And I don't think that those who were convinced that the ports weren't safe to visit with a ship tour would somehow feel safe on an ABD tour. Once you eliminate the non-planners and the nervous travelers, you would seem to be left with people who either like to pre-plan or prefer to DIY.

(We really loved all of the ports and tours we did in the Western Caribbean, by the way. Beautiful island, lovely people and interesting history all around. And very easy to book and plan on your own).

 

[deerh]

Nope. The price is totally on top of the price of the cruise. But with the language that ABD is using (and the price) I can see how you could think it did include the cruise fare. And I do agree that advertising it as including 21 meals is pretty ridiculous.



Sayhello

Hi, and NEW to this forum board. I usually am at the DVC boards. My wife and I are debating and looking at the Eastern Cruise in 2020 with ABD. I have not called them yet, but have many questions to the "experts" on ABD on this board.

1. Are you saying the cost P/P is $2499 or $2599 and does NOT INCLUDE the cruise? How is this possible when the website says 7 nights on Fantasy ship and accommodations in the headline? HOW can that be? I don't think that is right. I believe it is the price as for the 2 of us would be $5000 for a 7 day cruise.....

2. IS the price what stateroom? Inside, Balcony, what? It does not say.. I know-- Will call them but thought you all might know the answer..

3.On DVC (which I am a member) it says 300 points for 1 person. Do you all know if this is correct or not?

4. Do you all think the "perks" of this cruise is good for the price. Reading all the posts, it seems the consensus is no... But you do get your guide and special boat tours and off the ship first at CC... What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your answers...

DeerH

 

[sayhello]

Hi, and NEW to this forum board. I usually am at the DVC boards. My wife and I are debating and looking at the Eastern Cruise in 2020 with ABD. I have not called them yet, but have many questions to the "experts" on ABD on this board.

1. Are you saying the cost P/P is $2499 or $2599 and does NOT INCLUDE the cruise? How is this possible when the website says 7 nights on Fantasy ship and accommodations in the headline? HOW can that be? I don't think that is right. I believe it is the price as for the 2 of us would be $5000 for a 7 day cruise.....

It *is* the per person price NOT including the cruise. You book the cruise first, then add the ABD on. (You can do both with the same phone call, as you book it through DCL). You book any cabin you want, for any price you want, then the ABD is $2499-ish on top of that. That's why people are pretty flabbergasted on this thread. And the language is *definitely* mis-leading. If you look at the River Cruises, which *do* include the cabin, they are more like $4500 - $5000 *per person*.

2. IS the price what stateroom? Inside, Balcony, what? It does not say.. I know-- Will call them but thought you all might know the answer..

See my answer above. You book whatever cabin you want, for whatever price you can, then *add* the ABD to that. Cabin is not included in the price.

3.On DVC (which I am a member) it says 300 points for 1 person. Do you all know if this is correct or not?

Can't help you with this one. I'm not DVC.

4. Do you all think the "perks" of this cruise is good for the price. Reading all the posts, it seems the consensus is no... But you do get your guide and special boat tours and off the ship first at CC... What are your thoughts?

"Worth it" is so subjective. I don't think it's worth it for a Caribbean cruise with only 3 ports, one of which is *Castaway Cay*. I just don't think the value is there. It was worth it as an add-on to a Mediterranean cruise when they first offered it in 2010 for a 12-day cruise for around that same $2499 per person. But for a 7-day Caribbean cruise at that price? I just don't see it.

Thanks in advance for your answers...

DeerH

Hope this helps

Sayhello

ETA: If you dig, here's the verbiage on what's actually included:

Included on Your Adventures by Disney Cruise Package

• Curated itinerary of premium port excursions
• All meals in port
• Private welcome and farewell receptions
• Priority deboarding for excursions and Castaway Cay
• All onboard and excursion photography
• One-day spa pass to Rainforest Spa for guests 18+

No mention of a cabin or cruisefare.